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Firearms safety is the responsibility of every user of firearms. If you can’t follow them, all the time, then don’t carry one. This is a reminder of what happens when you disregard them!

If you value what we do at ASP, would you consider becoming an ASP Patron Member to support the work it takes to make the narrated videos like this terrible firearms safety rules violation? https://get-asp.com/patron gives the details and benefits.

The number one reason for negligent discharge with a firearm is complacency with the Rules of Firearms Safety. When your firearm stops being something you respect as dangerous, you can easily get complacent with treating it as a deadly force multiplier, and that complacency in handling leads to negligent discharges. The correction to that is to always remember that it’s a dangerous tool, and to treat it with respect! (I see the same kind of thing with driving and motorcycle riding; once you forget it’s a dangerous tool, bad things are coming)

Administrative firearm handling is dangerous. If you don’t NEED to be handling your firearm, DON’T. When the gun is not properly stored, holstered, or slung but is rather in your hands, it is a dangerous time. Recognize that whenever you handle your firearm in an administrative task (holstering in the morning, loading, unloading and showing clear on the range, inspection, unloading for dry fire work, etc.) that you’re doing something very dangerous and practice the rules of safe firearms handling religiously!

The first rule of firearms safety is to always keep your firearm pointed in a safe direction. ALWAYS keep your firearm pointed in a safe direction! A safe direction is one that is never pointed at someone who is not a deadly threat to you or others, and will minimize property damage if the firearm were to have a negligent discharge. If you follow this first rule, even if you somehow discharge the firearm, no one will be hurt and that’s the biggest goal.

The second rule of firearms safety is to keep your finger off the trigger until you’re ready to fire! I like to bolster that rule by framing it as “keep your fingers completely out of the trigger guard until you’ve decided to fire.” Had this guard not been stupid enough to put his finger on the trigger, his friend wouldn’t have been shot.

First aid skills are important. If you’re going to train and prepare to take a life to defend yourself, you should also have skills, training, and equipment to save life should you need to. (I carry an individual first aid kit at a minimum: http://amzn.to/1Or4yVz ) Often that will not involve defensive encounters, and in a defensive encounter your primary responsibility is to yourself and your loved ones.

There are 3 additional lessons for Patron Members and 3 class starters for Instructors from this video, so please join us in those programs to see them!

Attitude. Skills. Plan.

Copyright Disclaimer. Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for “fair use” for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use.

This woman fought pretty well I think, but the mugger had the drop on her and that made it tough. Lots of lessons for self-defenders of all kinds from this mugging!

If you value what we do at ASP, would you consider becoming an ASP Patron Member to support the work it takes to make the narrated videos like this mugger ambushing a woman on the street? https://get-asp.com/patron gives the details and benefits.

What does this video teach us about defending ourselves against muggers?

The first and most foundational part of Active Self Protection’s defensive strategy of “Attitude, Skills, Plan” is Attitude. You must cultivate the attitude that you are responsible for your own self-protection and you are the primary agent in your own rescue. You and only you can choose to cultivate an attitude that no one has the right to harm you or your loved ones and you have a right and a responsibility to stop anyone who threatens to harm you and yours. This woman had a good attitude, but needed to back it up with some awareness and some skills!

Evil exists in our world, and no amount of wishing it away does so. Evil people do evil things, and good people must be ready and willing to stand between them and innocent people and do enough violence to stop them definitively. No amount of negotiation will make truly evil people change their ways; only those willing and able to stop them who use attitude, skills, and plan effectively can.

The “master key” to situational awareness, as taught to me by my teacher Lawrence Robinson and his teacher Skip Hancock, is simple curiosity. You don’t have to be paranoid! Instead, simply be curious of your world like a small child is curious of their world. Look around you and really SEE. Look for what makes sense in your surroundings, but most importantly look for what’s out of place and doesn’t belong. I like to think back to the Sesame Street song “Three of These Things” and remember to look for the thing that doesn’t belong. As self-defenders, you’re looking for someone who doesn’t belong in their environment. A person standing still while everyone else moves. A person in a hoodie with the hood up when everyone else is in shorts and flip flops on a hot day. A person loitering where people come and go quickly. If you are curious and looking for what doesn’t belong, you’re 99% of the way there to being aware of your surroundings!

Transitional spaces are places where we MUST be more careful of potential attack. A transitional space is any location that (1) allows attackers to prey on potential victims with an element of surprise and (2) provides ready escape for the attackers. The sidewalk is a transitional space because of the ease of ambush and escape, so when you’re walking in public, be aware.

If you run from an attack, don’t just run AWAY from danger. Run TO something. Run TO the corner where you can fight one at a time. Run TO a store where a guard can help you. Run TO your house where you can lock the door. Run TO a place where you can better defend yourself from attack. Running FROM danger is great, but running TO safety is better!

There are 3 additional lessons for Patron Members and 3 class starters for Instructors from this video, so please join us in those programs to see them!

Attitude. Skills. Plan.

Copyright Disclaimer. Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for “fair use” for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use.

ATM muggings are common in China like they are everywhere. This one went ugly in a hurry, and from it self-defenders can draw some lessons. This one is not for the faint of heart, friends.

If you value what we do at ASP, would you consider becoming an ASP Patron Member to support the work it takes to make the narrated videos like this ATM mugging? https://get-asp.com/patron gives the details and benefits.

What does this video teach us about defending ourselves against an ATM mugging?

Evil exists in our world, and no amount of wishing it away does so. Evil people do evil things, and good people must be ready and willing to stand between them and innocent people and do enough violence to stop them definitively. No amount of negotiation will make truly evil people change their ways; only those willing and able to stop them who use attitude, skills, and plan effectively can. There was no talking this guy down. None. The end of this attack was stopping him or running away, and the leveraging arm made that very difficult.

There’s a well-worn joke that ATM stands for “Accessory to Mugging,” and it’s not far from the truth. The ATM is of course a likely place to be attacked because it is a transitional space. Thieves and armed robbers can easily ambush you if your attention is engrossed in the machine, and they are built to allow for easy access and escape. When you’re at the ATM, be sure to be extra aware of what is going on around you. I even suggest standing with your back to the machine, or at least with your shoulders perpendicular to it so that you can constantly see what is happening around you!

A knife attacks does not happen like you’ve seen in Hollywood. They are brutal, fast, and mean. Stabbing attacks do not generally come from slashes or from any notice whatsoever, but tend to come from concealment and repeatedly stab at a rate of 2-3 stabs per second.

Spiritual fitness is an important part of Active Self Protection. You don’t often get any advance notice of the last day of your life, but we see over and over that self-defense isn’t a guarantee of winning every fight you might be placed in. You want to be at peace with your loved ones and with God, because you’ll need that peace on the day that you meet Him. Since you can’t guarantee advanced notice, make peace today.

There are 3 additional lessons for Patron Members and 3 class starters for Instructors from this video, so please join us in those programs to see them!

Attitude. Skills. Plan.

Copyright Disclaimer. Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for “fair use” for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use.

There are lots of lessons to learn from this video, both from the guard’s perspective as well as the actions of the robber. You must know your risk factors for being the target of a robber!

UPDATE: the robber was sentenced to 30 years for this crime (apparently the criminal justice system works fast in Panama): https://get-asp.com/b60b (Google translate required)

If you value what we do at ASP, would you consider becoming an ASP Patron Member to support the work it takes to make the narrated videos like this guard being targeted for his pistol? https://get-asp.com/patron gives the details and benefits.

What does this video teach us about defending ourselves against an armed attacker?

Evil exists in our world, and no amount of wishing it away does so. Evil people do evil things, and good people must be ready and willing to stand between them and innocent people and do enough violence to stop them definitively. No amount of negotiation will make truly evil people change their ways; only those willing and able to stop them who use attitude, skills, and plan effectively can. This guard couldn’t talk his way out of this murder.

The “master key” to situational awareness, as taught to me by my teacher Lawrence Robinson and his teacher Skip Hancock, is simple curiosity. You don’t have to be paranoid! Instead, simply be curious of your world like a small child is curious of their world. Look around you and really SEE. Look for what makes sense in your surroundings, but most importantly look for what’s out of place and doesn’t belong. I like to think back to the Sesame Street song “Three of These Things” and remember to look for the thing that doesn’t belong. As self-defenders, you’re looking for someone who doesn’t belong in their environment. A person standing still while everyone else moves. A person in a hoodie with the hood up when everyone else is in shorts and flip flops on a hot day. A person loitering where people come and go quickly. If you are curious and looking for what doesn’t belong, you’re 99% of the way there to being aware of your surroundings!

Attackers often stalk their intended victims for some time, silently “interviewing” them to see if they are an easy target. (there’s a great article in Psychology Today about the psychology of victim selection…read it!) Criminals absolutely look for opportune people and opportune times to ambush easy prey, so the solution to that is not to look like prey! The common adage is true, “If you don’t want to be eaten, don’t look like food.”

In any territorial or predatorial violence, the attacker gets to set the time and circumstances of the attack. They will almost always launch that attack from ambush, or as we like to call it in Umas, from “obscurity.” Surviving that ambush is one of the most important keys to successfully defending yourself.

Spiritual fitness is an important part of Active Self Protection. You don’t often get any advance notice of the last day of your life, but we see over and over that self-defense isn’t a guarantee of winning every fight you might be placed in. You want to be at peace with your loved ones and with God, because you’ll need that peace on the day that you meet Him. Since you can’t guarantee advanced notice, make peace today.

There are 3 additional lessons for Patron Members and 3 class starters for Instructors from this video, so please join us in those programs to see them!

Attitude. Skills. Plan.

Copyright Disclaimer. Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for “fair use” for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use.

Off body carry is better than not carrying at all, but this ambush is a stark reminder of why it is not recommended by any trainer that I know of. Learn the limitations!

If you value what we do at ASP, would you consider becoming an ASP Patron Member to support the work it takes to make the narrated videos like this ambush? https://get-asp.com/patron gives the details and benefits.

What does this video teach us about defending ourselves against an ambush?

Evil exists in our world, and no amount of wishing it away does so. Evil people do evil things, and good people must be ready and willing to stand between them and innocent people and do enough violence to stop them definitively. No amount of negotiation will make truly evil people change their ways; only those willing and able to stop them who use attitude, skills, and plan effectively can. The victim, Denis Voronenkov, knew he had death threats against his life. No amount of wishful thinking would stop them.

The “master key” to situational awareness, as taught to me by my teacher Lawrence Robinson and his teacher Skip Hancock, is simple curiosity. You don’t have to be paranoid! Instead, simply be curious of your world like a small child is curious of their world. Look around you and really SEE. Look for what makes sense in your surroundings, but most importantly look for what’s out of place and doesn’t belong. I like to think back to the Sesame Street song “Three of These Things” and remember to look for the thing that doesn’t belong. As self-defenders, you’re looking for someone who doesn’t belong in their environment. A person standing still while everyone else moves. A person in a hoodie with the hood up when everyone else is in shorts and flip flops on a hot day. A person loitering where people come and go quickly. If you are curious and looking for what doesn’t belong, you’re 99% of the way there to being aware of your surroundings! Perhaps the greatest thing in this incident that I see is that neither Voronenkov nor his bodyguard were curious of their surroundings. That guy was right on top of them before they knew of his existence.

Transitional spaces are places where we MUST be more careful of potential attack. A transitional space is any location that (1) allows attackers to prey on potential victims with an element of surprise and (2) provides ready escape for the attackers. The sidewalk was the transitional space that allowed the assassin to sneak up on Voronenkov and his bodyguard and ambush them.

On body carry is the preferred method of keeping your force multipliers, whether a firearm or another tool. Purse carry is shown repeatedly to be less effective at retention, less effective at draw and accuracy, and much more likely to be a target in an attack. (for more on purse carry, read this: https://get-asp.com/s0gk )

Spiritual fitness is an important part of Active Self Protection. You don’t often get any advance notice of the last day of your life, but we see over and over that self-defense isn’t a guarantee of winning every fight you might be placed in. You want to be at peace with your loved ones and with God, because you’ll need that peace on the day that you meet Him. Since you can’t guarantee advanced notice, make peace today.

There are 3 additional lessons for Patron Members and 3 class starters for Instructors from this video, so please join us in those programs to see them!

Copyright Disclaimer. Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for “fair use” for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use.

Defending against someone who wants to hurt you with a knife is no small feat, and this video shows that well. However, if we know the principles of knife defense we give ourselves some hope!

If you value what we do at ASP, would you consider becoming an ASP Patron Member to support the work it takes to make the narrated videos like this knife defense and attack? https://get-asp.com/patron gives the details and benefits.

What does this video teach us about defending ourselves against a knife attack?

An under-utilized aspect of understanding dimensional stages of action is using hard barriers to stay out of contact of the potential harm that an attacker wants to do to us. That could mean keeping the counter between us and a knife-wielding armed robber, or keeping a car between us and a mugger in a parking lot. Closing a door to a safe room in our home would be similar. Don’t underestimate the value in simply keeping a hard barrier between you and the threat so that the threat is out of contact, which gives you time to consider other defensive strategies!

It’s actually quite rare to see someone with two knives in a knife attack. Almost always they use one knife with a leveraging arm, but this attacker was clearly deranged and drunk and so he used two. Just goes to show that real life is unpredictable!

A knife attacks does not happen like you’ve seen in Hollywood. They are brutal, fast, and mean. Stabbing attacks do not generally come from slashes or from any notice whatsoever, but tend to come from concealment and repeatedly stab at a rate of 2-3 stabs per second.

You must know the range of your force multiplier and the range of various force multipliers that might be used against you. Knives are short-range, fast moving force multipliers. Firearms are extremely long-range, fast moving force multipliers.

There are 3 additional lessons for Patron Members and 3 class starters for Instructors from this video, so please join us in those programs to see them!

Copyright Disclaimer. Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for “fair use” for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use.

There are ample reasons that we tell you not to let conflicts escalate, but to purposefully de-escalate. This one went from verbal to physical to potentially deadly in a hurry!

If you value what we do at ASP, would you consider becoming an ASP Patron Member to support the work it takes to make the narrated videos like this conflict escalation? https://get-asp.com/patron gives the details and benefits.

What does this video teach us about defending ourselves against an escalating conflict and assault?

Sometimes the danger that you must protect yourself and your family from isn’t evil, but is rather deranged. People who aren’t in their right faculties can be a real danger to your family, even if they are not inherently evil. You need the attitude, skills, and plan to protect yourself from evil AND from non-evil threats that pop up! A drunk can escalate a conflict SO fast, and even people who aren’t dangerous when sober can become dangerous in a hurry when they’re impaired.

If you can win “the fight before the fight,” you win. You win that fight by minimizing your potential for being attacked in the first place! That means making smart decisions and living a life of awareness and readiness so that you don’t take unnecessary risks.

Using your verbal judo to de-escalate and redirect a conflict is always the best choice if it is available, so make sure that your verbal game is strong. Knowing how to redirect, how to persuade, how to empathize, and how to talk someone down from a confrontation is critical to avoiding some fights. That said, we must also know that some people will not be dissuaded from a fight, so knowing when to talk and when to act is critical as well.

Part of your training must be knowing when to use verbal commands, and when to abandon verbal commands and move to physical or deadly force. Many times self-defenders (and LEO) get caught in a loop of issuing the same command repeatedly to no effect. Using verbal commands is an important part of your force options training, and part of that training in verbal commands is knowing when to talk and when to stop talking and act.

Empty-handed skills are absolutely critical for self-defenders. First of all, more conflicts you will encounter as a self-defender will require empty-handed skills than will require firearms skills, simply because more self-defense encounters are physical than deadly. Second, since a firearm is a tool of last resort, self-defenders need to have non-lethal options that include empty-handed skills to protect themselves from likely incidents. Third, in the moment of the encounter you may not have the time to get to your gun before you can fight your way to it.

There are 3 additional lessons for Patron Members and 3 class starters for Instructors from this video, so please join us in those programs to see them!

Copyright Disclaimer. Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for “fair use” for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use.

This kind of attack just makes me angry on many levels, but it also highlights the need as a passenger or other innocent person to have the attitude, skills, and plan you need to protect yourself!

If you value what we do at ASP, would you consider becoming an ASP Patron Member to support the work it takes to make the narrated videos like this angry bus driver beating an innocent passenger? https://get-asp.com/patron gives the details and benefits.

What does this video teach us about defending ourselves against an angry person?

Evil exists in our world, and no amount of wishing it away does so. Evil people do evil things, and good people must be ready and willing to stand between them and innocent people and do enough violence to stop them definitively. No amount of negotiation will make truly evil people change their ways; only those willing and able to stop them who use attitude, skills, and plan effectively can.

The eyes may be the windows to the soul, but the hands are the windows to the intent of a person. If you’re in a potential conflict, ALWAYS pay attention to what the aggressor is doing with their hands. They might have a force multiplier in their hand, or they might be hiding their hand so that you can’t see what is in it or using their hand to conceal something. If their hands are empty, there is a difference between someone with fists and someone whose hands are open and relaxed. As a self-defender your situational awareness must include seeing the hands of any potential threat in your vicinity, so watch the hands!

Using your verbal judo to de-escalate and redirect a conflict is always the best choice if it is available, so make sure that your verbal game is strong. Knowing how to redirect, how to persuade, how to empathize, and how to talk someone down from a confrontation is critical to avoiding some fights. That said, we must also know that some people will not be dissuaded from a fight, so knowing when to talk and when to act is critical as well.

Empty-handed skills are absolutely critical for self-defenders. First of all, more conflicts you will encounter as a self-defender will require empty-handed skills than will require firearms skills, simply because more self-defense encounters are physical than deadly. Second, since a firearm is a tool of last resort, self-defenders need to have non-lethal options that include empty-handed skills to protect themselves from likely incidents. Third, in the moment of the encounter you may not have the time to get to your gun before you can fight your way to it.

As one of my martial arts mentors, Skip Hancock, is fond of saying, the ground must be your friend and not your enemy. You must know how to fight on the ground and not panic if the fight goes to the ground! You must have skills from bottom position, from top position, and in the scramble. You must be able to regain your feet and fight from wherever you find yourself. Too many fights require this skill to ignore it!

There are 3 additional lessons for Patron Members and 3 class starters for Instructors from this video, so please join us in those programs to see them!

Copyright Disclaimer. Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for “fair use” for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use.

This off duty cop could be any of us who carry for their personal protection. This is why we say half-hearted resistance doesn’t help!

If you value what we do at ASP, would you consider becoming an ASP Patron Member to support the work it takes to make the narrated videos like this off duty cop losing the fight? https://get-asp.com/patron gives the details and benefits.

What does this video teach us about defending ourselves against an armed robber?

Evil exists in our world, and no amount of wishing it away does so. Evil people do evil things, and good people must be ready and willing to stand between them and innocent people and do enough violence to stop them definitively. No amount of negotiation will make truly evil people change their ways; only those willing and able to stop them who use attitude, skills, and plan effectively can.

Transitional spaces are places where we MUST be more careful of potential attack. A transitional space is any location that (1) allows attackers to prey on potential victims with an element of surprise and (2) provides ready escape for the attackers. The attackers here used the transitional space of the gate to trap their victim.

Every person gets to decide who they are willing to protect. For some, their “flock” is only themselves and their immediate family. That’s an acceptable answer. For others, they are willing to protect their friends, coworkers, and extended family. For a few, it might mean being willing to protect anyone who is weak, powerless, and in need. Each of us must decide the size of our flock and have that decision firmly in mind when it is time to act. The guy hiding behind the gate chose to hide rather than intervene, and if he wasn’t armed I can’t say that I blame him. Each of us must choose for ourselves how big our flock is.

One of the factors we see in injury to victims of crime is half-hearted resistance or half-hearted compliance. This amounts to an ego check or a will check of the armed robber to see if they really mean what they say they mean, and while that’s normal for people to do, it gets a lot of people hurt. Either comply fully with the criminals’ demands, or resist with everything you have to overwhelm the attacker and end the threat. Don’t go half-way.

Spiritual fitness is an important part of Active Self Protection. You don’t often get any advance notice of the last day of your life, but we see over and over that self-defense isn’t a guarantee of winning every fight you might be placed in. You want to be at peace with your loved ones and with God, because you’ll need that peace on the day that you meet Him. Since you can’t guarantee advanced notice, make peace today.

There are 3 additional lessons for Patron Members and 3 class starters for Instructors from this video, so please join us in those programs to see them!

Copyright Disclaimer. Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for “fair use” for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use.

Being in a house of worship is not enough to protect you from being assaulted. (I am a pastor; I know it well!) This guard wasn’t ready with attitude, skills, and plan to stop this man assaulting him, and that’s a big lesson for all of us.

If you value what we do at ASP, would you consider becoming an ASP Patron Member to support the work it takes to make the narrated videos like this assault? https://get-asp.com/patron gives the details and benefits.

What does this video teach us about defending ourselves against an assault?

Evil exists in our world, and no amount of wishing it away does so. Evil people do evil things, and good people must be ready and willing to stand between them and innocent people and do enough violence to stop them definitively. No amount of negotiation will make truly evil people change their ways; only those willing and able to stop them who use attitude, skills, and plan effectively can. Stealing from a house of worship absolutely qualifies as evil in my book.

It’s dark for half the day, and bad guys of all kinds love to launch ambushes from the dark. That means, as a self-defender, that part of having good situational awareness involves keeping a flashlight on your person. That flashlight doesn’t have to be crazy tacticool and shouldn’t be firearm-mounted, because its purpose is to help you see at night to give you better awareness of any potential threats far before they can hurt you. A VERY compact option that runs on AAs is this Streamlight: http://amzn.to/1U9S39H and I carry this 1000 lumen Fenix: http://amzn.to/1S73jjb which is rechargeable and has multiple modes of brightness. A middle ground that I have used very effectively is this Olight: http://amzn.to/29htS3q. I highly recommend a flashlight for everyone, simply as an awareness tool at night. If the guard had a strong light on his person he might well have seen the attacker had the knife with him and been able

The eyes may be the windows to the soul, but the hands are the windows to the intent of a person. If you’re in a potential conflict, ALWAYS pay attention to what the aggressor is doing with their hands. They might have a force multiplier in their hand, or they might be hiding their hand so that you can’t see what is in it or using their hand to conceal something. If their hands are empty, there is a difference between someone with fists and someone whose hands are open and relaxed. As a self-defender your situational awareness must include seeing the hands of any potential threat in your vicinity, so watch the hands!

A knife attacks does not happen like you’ve seen in Hollywood. They are brutal, fast, and mean. Stabbing attacks do not generally come from slashes or from any notice whatsoever, but tend to come from concealment and repeatedly stab at a rate of 2-3 stabs per second.

Copyright Disclaimer. Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for “fair use” for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use.